Insiders who know the Orange County Sheriff’s Department couldn’t help but notice that one of the detectives escorting 14-year-old Edwin out of the Burlington Coat Factory was Sgt. Richard Mankewich. He is known as a smart, aggressive cop with a controversial past. He pushes the limits and gets lots of arrests.

When working a drug detail in the 1990’s, Mankewich gained attention for pulling 54 grams of cocaine from a suspect’s rectum. He said he was patting the man down for weapons and felt a bulge. A judge threw the case out, but then the judge was overturned on appeal and the arrest was upheld. When asked how many times he had found drugs in such a manner, Mankewich said, “‘probably seven to 10 times.”

Mankewich was part of the Criminal Patrol Squad when he pulled a black motorist over on the Florida Turnpike in 1997 for changing lanes without signaling and for having a partially obscured tag. The squad stopped thousands of drivers a year on the Turnpike looking for illegal drugs. Black drivers were 6 1/2 times more likely to be searched than white motorists.

It was pretty obvious that Mankewich was looking for an excuse to pull the car over. Unfortunately, the driver turned out to be Maj. Aaron J. Campbell, 54 from the Miami PD. Furious about being stopped in what he considered a case of racial profiling, he argued with Mankewich, snatched his driver’s license out of Mankewich’s hands and refused to follow instructions. Deputies sprayed him with pepper spray and Campbell fled. The confrontation was recorded on a squad car camera and made national news.

Campbell was hit with several charges, including resisting arrest with violence.

At trial, defense lawyer James Cheney Mason argued Campbell was stopped because he was a black man driving north in a new car with a South Florida license plate.

Mankewich said he couldn’t tell Campbell was black behind the cars’ tinted windows.

The judge ruled the stop was illegal. Changing lanes without signaling was not a crime. And two Orange-Osceola judges had ruled in previous cases that obscured tags such as Campbell’s were not illegal. Mankewich was involved in those cases as well.

In what was considered a victory for Campbell, he was convicted of only two misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest without violence.

Now fast forward to 2004. Federal marshals, state agents and local cops were casing out a motel for two very dangerous murderers. A car pulled up, with the occupants matching the description of the suspects. The cops began following, when the car bolted. A high-speed chase ensued. Mankewich, who was not involved in the stakeout, did get involved in the chase, which exceeded 100 mph.

Mankewich asked over his radio if the suspects were armed. He was told they were murder suspects who used firearms in their crimes. The car chase went into Parramore. The driver got out and fled into a residential area, with Mankewich in pursuit.

The man had his hands on his waistband. Fearing he was reaching for a gun, Mankewich fired. He missed, continued the chase, and fired three more shots, hitting the man once and killing him.

It turned out the man was not the murder suspect. He did have a criminal history and was fleeing because his drivers’ license was suspended. He was holding up his pants, not reaching for a gun. He was unarmed.

The case took on racial overtones because the man was black.

A grand jury cleared Mankewich. At the time, I agreed, writing a column about several recent incidents when fleeing suspects had broken into homes and taken hostages, sometimes with deadly results. As far as Mankewich knew, the same thing could have happened here. He was acting on information given him by other officers that the man he was chasing was a dangerous murder suspect. And the man was acting the part. Given the few brief seconds he had to make a decision, with his life at risk, I found it hard to fault Mankewich. I also don’t doubt for a second that Mankewich would have shot him were the suspect white.

Between 1998 and 2004, there were about a dozen use-of-force inquiries and complaints involving Mankewich for being rude, making racial comments and harassing a female deputy in his squad. He was cleared on all of them. In one case, he apologized to a woman deputy for inappropriate language.

He now is with the sex crimes unit, and was one of the detectives who investigated Edwin. The unit was called because the “victim’’ was a 3-year-old girl.

The investigative report indicates another detective was in charge of the investigation. This detective prepared the investigative report, and in it, he’s obviously working in concert with Mankewich, who is his superior officer. The two of them interrogated Edwin at the station.

The report concludes that based on the evidence, “this detective’’ believes there is probable cause to arrest Edwin. But the detective never is named.

I do not think Edwin’s arrest was racially motivated. If the arrest had anything to do with his appearance, I think it was his size. He is more than 6-feet tall and weighs 300 pounds.

The 3-year-old girl and her mother are black. One might have argued that if Edwin wasn’t arrested, that would be racist because the cops didn’t take a crime against a black child seriously.

This can go both ways.

Also, the other cop who led Edwin out of Burlington’s with Mankewich was black. And Sheriff Demings is black.

This isn’t to say Mankewich’s zealousness did not play a role in Edwin’s arrest. More later.

Comments

you sad – While changing lanes without signaling might not be criminal..it is against the law and you can most certainly be pulled over for that. I am a white woman and I got a ticket for just this very thing. I was on a highway and there wasn’t a soul in sight, except apparently for a cop that I didn’t see. I was pulled over and issued a ticket. Did you ever take driver’s ed? You change lanes, you signal. A law is a law…

You are WRONG at the time of the incident our traffic laws had been changed and you did not have to signal a lane change. More recently that law was repealed and now you have to signal lane change again. I think you need to trust the Judge knows the law..

…Something funny about the investigative report–The detective in charge of the case is not named? He (or she) did not sign the report which he (or she) allegedly wrote? On this case, how does Sgt. Mankewich become the lead detective’s superior?
…Moreover–Was the interrogation of a 14-year-old suspect conducted properly? Was he advised of his rights? Did he understand them? Was he offered the option to have an attorney present? Were specific rules regarding juvenile (interrogations) followed?
…Maybe most importantly: Were the interrogations recorded by video/sound equipment? If not, why not? If yes, let’s have a look-see…
…Mankewich? His jaded history as a LEO defines who and what he is. And, yes–that long background is relevant to this story, as well as everything else in which he becomes involved, professionally and privately…

While Florida does appear to have a problem with Law Enforcement personnel I have noticed that lately they seem to at least be arresting some of the really bad ones. Three this week in Volusia County alone but then again this is not Volusia County. On another note the officer in question must have been hammered as a kid with a name like Manwich which would explain a lot.

Why didn’t Sgt. Mankewich supervisors put a stop to this nonsense? If you arrest the boy, you have to arrest the boy’s mother. How was the 14 years old going to make a getaway? In his mothers car with mom driving!

I consider myself an insider of sorts or at least one that is always watching for the bad cops, but I failed to recognize Mankewich. I am certainly familiar with Mankewich from his 1997 case with Aaron Campbell, and it was obviously racial profiling that prompted the traffic stop. This case made cops in Central Florida look like a bunch of good ole boys from history. Mankewich was close to Sheriff Beary and that fact saved his hide. Beary has been gone, so why is this dirtbag excuse for a cop still here? The Sentinel quotes Campbell stating that he thought they were going to kill him during the traffic stop, and I buy that.

The chase down Parramore that resulted in the murder of the alleged suspect was appalling! The victim’s name was Marvin – he was from Jamaica. I cannot think of his last name at the moment, but it will come to me. Mankewich shouldn’t have been on the street to kill that man and the information was incorrect – he was not a murder suspect at all. In my opinion this was used to cover-up the crime and/or make it justifiable in the eyes of many. It worked – obviously. Marvin Williams. Dead at 26 – gunned down by Mankewich in a case of mistaken identity.

Yes, I heard Beary put him in sex crimes. Figures that this is his arrest. Mankewich is one overzealous cop that doesn’t belong on the street. Will Sheriff Demings do something about it? That is the question. I see a clear pattern of abuse throughout his lengthy career, and now you tell us that he digs drugs out of suspects’ rectums? What???

Mike – consider that many of the problems involving law enforcement in Florida are due, at least in part, to the low education requirement for applicants. Too much power for an uneducated good ole boy from the South. Beary is the classic example of that.

If this guy is the pitbull the story wants to infer..I have no issue with him being in the “sex crimes unit” we need guys like him to deal with the poor excuses for DNA that these freaks perpetrate given any and every opportunity that is either presented or they make..Give me a guy like Mankewich any day if he can put a dent in these guys…

when the dude from Miami was stopped for not signaling, it was not a violation of law. Go read when the law was passed, then you can judge the article. The law was passed after the event. Spanky Mankewich the camera hound.

A bit of advice: I know you being in the public eye and having to bring up unpleasant topics you probably do what you consider some smart things to ensure the safety of yourself and others you care about. Writing about this is admirable, but you are bound to upset some people who have some extra resources and drive the normal general public does not. Be careful and revisit your safety protocols.

Actually, at the time the trooper was pulled over, failing to use one’s signals was only an infraction if another vehicle was affected. However, about 5-6 yeasrs ago, the Florida legislature amended the law and made it an infraction to fail to use a signal period, whether another vehicle was affected or not, so Mr. Thomas was correct.

You wonder why people flee officers and tried to not get involved with anything that might get their attention? This story shows why. Not all officers are like the one involved with this story. Most are not. But some are. If you do not gave a boat load of money and connections you will get run over by such people. This is actually dangerous to the general public. When cops are just another gang then gang law prevails which is the law of the jungle.I hope the Sheriff Demings reins in this guy.

You wonder why people flee officers and tried to not get involved with anything that might get their attention? This story shows why. Not all officers are like the one involved with this story. Most are not. But some are. If you do not have a boat load of money and connections you will get run over by such people. This is actually dangerous to the general public. When cops are just another gang then gang law prevails which is the law of the jungle.I hope that Sheriff Demings reins in this guy.

Vicky Gallas, I consider you a moron; not an “insider of sorts”. Only in your dime novel mind. The stop involving Major Campbell was made at night on the Turnpike. “Obviously racial profiling”? Here’s a suggestion, Vicky. Go sit along side the road or, even travel behind another car at night, at 75-85 mph speeds and tell me what the race is of the car in front of you. Major Campbell embarrassed law enforcement with his actions. Nothing that was done warranted his response. As far as the individual Mankewich shot, he was THOUGHT to be a murder suspect, based on THE INFORMATION PROVIDED! Here’s a novel thought for you. Had “Marvin” not been driving with a suspended driver’s license; had “Marvin” not run; had “Marvin” complied with the instructions to stop; had “Marvin” not continued to place his hands at his waistband, despite numerous repeated commands to not to do, “Marvin” would not have been killed by law enforcement. But then, it’s always folks like you, who sit behind the safety of your keyboard and criticize those who risk their lives on the street. Here’s another suggestion for you. Rather than sit on your duff and claim to be an “insider”, become a change agent; go apply, become a deputy and you can show everyone how it’s supposed to be done. That is, if you could pass the physical and psychological exams. Nah, you’d couldn’t and, you’d rather just complain, whine and moan about law enforcement, but I’m sure you’re the first to also complain about the crime rate. “Insider of sorts”. Please.

Don’t be so quick to assume that Mankewich is done killing. My cousin was shot to death by a cop in 2003. The cop had already been investigated for “unnecessary force” once before when he had shot and killed someone else. My cousin was in her car with her infant son in the back seat and the cop shot her through the driver’s side window because he claimed she was trying to run him over. My cousin’s crime: submitting a forged medical prescription to a pharmacy. It turned out that the prescription was not forged. She is just as dead however and her son motherless. There are cops out there who think it is their job to rid the world of undesirables and their god-given right to ascertain who those undesirables are. Everything Mike Thomas has written in this blog shows clearly that Mankewich is one of those cops. I am very thankful that I no longer live in Orange County.

Well, a no name poster calls me a “moron” and is obviously close to the situation involving Aaron Campbell and the murder of Marvin Campbell. Safety of my keyboard? Ha – as I’m sure you are aware, this “moron” beat your gang of thug cops in a racketeering trial. Is this Mankewich I’m responding to?

Be a cop with your group of thugs? I’d rather be dead. As for the crime rate, well, I was ordered to the ground in a robbery at a 7-11 on I-Drive one night and left when it was all over rather than stick around and wait as a witness with everyone else. Crime is out of hand around here for reason, and nah – I wouldn’t want to. You’re tossing that “you only appreciate cops when you need help” at the wrong person. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I wouldn’t call cops if my next door neighbor was a serial killer. I help myself, but thanks anyway. LOL – and I am an “insider of sorts” in the way that I know what you are really all about and the real mindset and power trip that you and yours exhibit in your daily encounters with the citizens that pay your way. Pull that wool over someone elses eyes.

When you are altering the life of somebody forever, every case is different. Police officers shouldn’t be allowed to turn away common sense and righteous judgment simply because of what ifs. The Bulger case is terrible, but that case is unique, as this one is unique. The evidence proves Edwin’s innocence, and if the arrest is not taken away from his record, then his future is in jeopardy because of these “official” decisions.

When cops treat people in such a terrible manner, it’s hard for me to have sympathy when something happens to them! They abuse people on a dialy basis just because they have a gun and a badge: it’s ridiculous..

I’m not sure whether Sgt. Mankewich was right or wrong in his decision about Edwin. Based on what I saw on Good Morning America it looks like Edwin was a good Samaritan and not a criminal.

But when I checked back on the other alleged controversial cases involving Sgt. M. I have reasonable doubt in those cases. I hate to second guess other cops when they have a split second to make a decision but based on the info provided by the media I think / hope I would have reacted the same as he did in those situations.

I have been accused of stopping people who were DWB = Driving While Black . I have and never nor would I ever do that. Like Sgt. M.-I couldn’t tell someone’s race, I noticed them because they committed a traffic violation. Even if I had been able to tell they were black, I would never stop someone for that and I am tired of people throwing out the race card. I don’t think Edwin or his attorney are doing this but it looks like the media made that an issue.

Also based on the media info, I think Edwin is innocent but I don’t know what he may have said to Sgt. M. I learned from a great (former) Detective Steve Thomas that no matter how much you think you know about a case you only know a fraction of it.

My first impression of Edwin was positive and it still is. My first impression of Sgt. Mankewich was heading towards the negative side but I’m glad I decided to reserve judgment and I’m still giving him the benefit if the doubt.

Actually the signal to change lanes law was signed by Jeb Bush. As a previous blogger said it use to only be necessary when another vehicle was in your immediate surroundings. Another brainless law that would not be necessary if drivers were required to have brains.

JUNE IS THE MONTH CELEBRATED BECAUSE SLAVERY SUPPOSEDLY ENDED MANY YEARS AGO. ARE THEY SURE? I DONT THINK SO. THERE IS STILL ALOT OF RACISM, HATE AND SAME RACE HATE TAKING PLACE AROUND THE WORLD. I PRAY THAT GOD BESTOWS BLESSINGS UPON THIS FAMILY AND THAT HE TAKES CHARGE. ITS SAD THAT WE ARE STILL BEING JUDGE BY THE COLOR OF OUR SKIN IN 20010.

While we are reading what was the motive behind the Sgts. action, I have a question for all. Just suppose…the childs body had been found later. Would those security camera pics have more revelance?Another question.. after the actions of the law, will any sane person repeat this action? The answer is no and this is the end result hoped for by law enforcement. Cool it Thomas and by the way..suppose that was your child?

I will conclude my remarks here by stating that I do not view this situation or any others involving Mankewich in past as being racially motivated. The traffic stop and subsequent actions concerning Aaron Campbell back in 1997 were questionable in this respect as was the chase and murder of unarmed Marvin Williams; however, when you look at the entire Mankewich picture, from the beginning of his career to date, it is most likely that this is just another overzealous cop on a power trip.

Maybe he’s right and he couldn’t tell in the dark on the turnpike that Campbell was black, and in my opinion he would have chased and gunned down Marvin Williams no matter what race he was. He is still a leftover from the good ole boy days of Beary and needs to go.

Note to Mankewich: We the citizens pay your salary and you are supposed to work for us. You really need to stop viewing your career in an ‘us vs. them’ context, but then you sure are not alone. Yes, I have a bias and have zero trust for cops – this comes from my life experiences.

Hopefully this is a lesson for the mother of this teen not to ever grant permission for law enforcement to speak to your child. I was in such a position back in 2003 and stated clearly to my son to not say one word and then turned to the officer and informed him of my son’s age and that he did not have my permission to speak to him. This was, of course, met with a threat of an obstruction charge (they try, right) and countered with the statement that he must do as he sees fit and I will then act accordingly. The cops left, but really only because the one in charge recognized me and probably understood that I meant it.

Mike..it is not the actions of “good” people that will be affected by good law enforcement. By the way, if this person was looking for the mother, why did he go out into the parking lot. Couldn.t she have been inside the store? Not to smart.

I read the paper every day and I see story after story after story of abusisve officers, officers who shoot their spouses, girlfriends and boyfriends, they make threats they assault people, they commit crimes.

Weren’t these same officers required to take a psychological exam?

Someone needs to put a new test together becasue the old one is letting too many BAD COPS get into the system.

Unfortunately some officers think they are the judge and jury.

The police have a very tough job, but that is no excuse for being a BAD COP.

Agreed. One can never be too safe when it comes to a child. If it were my daughter, I would have wondered why he didn’t go to customer service. Then again, I’m 37, not 14. Whatever the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry.